Thursday, July 31, 2014

The complete, short-lived 1980 television series, Beyond Westworld, is now available on DVD from the fine folks at Warner Archive. This series was a sequel to/continuation of the 1973 Michael Crichton film, Westworld, and posited that after the meltdown at the infamous Delos resort, a scientist (James Wainright) absconded with a bunch of the lifelike androids and planned to use them to conquer the world. Delos Security agents John Moore (Jim McMullen) and Pamela Williams (Connie Selleca) are tasked with hunting him down and foiling his evil schemes.

The show only had five episodes (and was cancelled after three). The pilot film was included on the semi-recent Westworld Blu-ray a couple years back, but this marks the first time that the complete series has been available on home video in the U.S. At the moment, the DVDs are only available from the Warner websites, but it should be available through Amazon in a couple of weeks.

Monday, July 14, 2014

I can't imagine why, but I've had the Planet Of The Apes franchise - and specifically, 1973's Battle For The Planet Of The Apes - on my mind the last few days. Anyway, that prompted me to dig up this selection of Battle one-sheets from around this planet. They pretty much all feature the same basic image... but there are some interesting variations. Enjoy -- and have a great week!

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

An effects technician (possibly Jon Sorensen) works on the otherworldly derelict miniature from Ridley Scott's classic 1979 space horror flick, Alien. As you may have noted by now, I'm a huge fan of practical effects work - especially miniatures - and I find these kinds of behind-the-scenes shots fascinating.

A brilliant scientist, Dr. Paul Bradley (Connery) is summoned to Washington by NASA chief Harold Sherwood (Malden), who informs him that a huge meteor will smash into earth in six days. The only chance to destroy the meteor is to work with the Soviets, revealing to them top secrets. But as the clock is ticking, fragments of the meteor split off and come crashing to earth, causing enormous damage. And as avalanches and tidal waves take a devastating toll, Bradley works against all odds to eliminate the greatest threat the world has ever known.

Despite a huge PR campaign and plenty of sci-fi elements, the relatively big-budget Meteor flopped at the box office, and took American-International pictures down with it, but I've always enjoyed it for what it was. It's not a great movie, by any means, but it's entertaining.

Friday, July 4, 2014

July's Space Babe (and the first of 2014) is the striking Virginia Hey as Warrior Woman in 1981's Mad Max 2 (a/k/a The Road Warrior). A woman of few words, this post-Apocalyptic amazon wielded her deadly crossbows in defense of her desert community, and gave her life to secure their survival.

Born in Sydney, Australia in 1952, the lovely Hey was a model before launching her acting career with Mad Max 2. She went on to star in several Australian television series, while also making appearances in numerous feature films, such as The Living Daylights.

In 1999, she returned to the sci-fi genre with a co-starring role on Farscape, where she portrayed an alien priestess named Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan. In recent years, she has been focusing her talents on a line of perfumes and aromatic candles.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

I haven't done one of these round-up posts since last November. Man, I've really been slacking off, huh? Anyway,you may have noticed that I've been posting a little more frequently of late, and it's my plan to to get back to somewhat regular updates here on the blog. I doubt I'll be posting daily again (there was a while there when I was posting twice a day!), but I'll try very hard to get in at least a couple posts a week. In fact, look for a new "Space Babes" post on Friday.

I want to thank the few loyal readers who generously donated to the Space: 1970 editorial fund (link in the sidebar) over the last few months. I am incredibly grateful, and feel guilty that I didn't post more. I hope to rectify that over the coming weeks.

As an early birthday (coming up next week) gift, my wife picked me up one of the recently re-issued Space: 1999 Eagle Transporter kits from Round 2 models. This is a replica of the original MPC/Fundimensions kit from the 1970's, and I'm thrilled to have it again. (I hope they re-issue the Hawk Interceptor soon!) I also recently picked up the fifth and final season of The Six Million Dollar Man on DVD, and have been really enjoying revisiting it. Steve Austin spends a lot more time as an astronaut this season - even returning to the moon - and there are rematches with Bigfoot and a new Death Probe. Plus aliens. So, you know, all the good stuff.

• On Video: As noted in previous posts, the 1983 Roger Corman-produced Space Raiders is due out on DVD and Blu-ray in August from Scorpion Releasing. It's a fun flick, full of recycled effects footage from Battle Beyond The Stars (and, I think, 1982's Android), and I'll enjoy having a copy in my library.

I missed it, but 1975's Rollerball was released a month or two ago on Blu-ray by Twilight Time. Unfortunately, it was a limited edition, and has sold out from the company. That's disappointing, because I really would have liked to pick up a copy.

Suddenly, I'm also thinking that I've forgotten another upcoming 70s sci-fi release. I really should start making notes.

UPDATE: I was right. I did forget something. Kino Video will be releasing a Blu-ray edition of the 1979 disaster flick, Meteor, in September. I'll post more info on this release soon.

• Space: 1970 Wants You: I've always been open to - and grateful for - submissions from my readers. Now I want to outright encourage you folks to send me any cool Space: 1970-era stuff you might think would be interesting to your fellow Star Kids. Rare photos and production art, behind-the-scenes stills, nominations for "Space Babes" or Reader Polls, pretty much anything, really. Hell, even if you'd like to write a Guest Post, just e-mail me. I'll do my best to credit any contributions I use, of course.

•Shameless self-promotion: Finally, I'm still working on my sci-fi adventure webcomic, Perils On Planet X, which is illustrated by the talented Gene Gonzales, and colored by the equally-talented Ian Sokoliwski.
It runs a page a week, with a new one posted every Friday, and it's
absolutely free. We're closing in on the end of the first story arc, and
the story is blasting along like a rocket, packed with Flash Gordon/John Carter-styled pulp thrills. I hope you'll check it out, if you haven't already.

ABOUT THIS BLOG

This blog is dedicated to the science fiction films and television series of the 1970s - give or take a few years (say, 1969-1983) - including such nostalgic favorites as Star Wars, Space: 1999, UFO, Space Academy, the original Battlestar Galactica, Jason of Star Command, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Logan's Run and many others.

But be warned: I still love these productions with all the enthusiasm I held for them as a kid, and they will be treated here with affection and respect. If you're looking for someone to snarkily denigrate "old" movies - or like to do that yourself - you've come to the wrong site.

So journey with us back to the days when special effects were created by skillful hands and spaceships were detailed models, when robots were obligatory comedy relief, when square-jawed heroes and cloaked villains battled among the stars -- and the future was fun!

PLEASE NOTE:I do not sell (nor even buy, all that often) the memorabilia and merchandise I write about on this blog, nor do I have any idea what value your "collectibles" might have. That's not what this site is about, so please don't ask me.

ABOUT ME

Christopher Mills is a professional writer of comic books and short fiction in a variety of genres, as well as a DVD reviewer for several pop culture websites. His taste in entertainment clearly peaked when he was about 15, which certainly explains his embarrassing obsession with James Bond, hardboiled crime fiction, comic books, paperback pulps, space opera, Universal/Hammer/Toho Monsters, sword & sorcery sagas, old genre TV shows and vintage B-movies.

VISIT MY HOMEPAGE:

MY SCI-FI WEBCOMIC

MY CULT FILM & B-MOVIE SITE

Reviewing genre DVDs Since 2005

SPACE: 1970 FUND

Do you enjoy Space: 1970? Want to help keep it going? Consider making a donation to the Space: 1970 Fund - all contributions go toward purchasing rare videos & books for review and other research materials.